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When The World’s Ready To Meet
We’re Ready
The meeting and events industry is facing an unprecedented situation. Despite the current environment, our industry shows resilience. We align our purpose to show that we are stronger together.
PSAV and our family of companies, along with MMB, EIC, MPI, and PCMA have launched an advocacy campaign for our industry.
Help spread the word with #MeetingsWork on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter!
Because when the world’s ready to meet, we’re ready to create impactful experiences with you.
To read more about the full, global impact meetings and events have on the economy, click here to access the Events Industry Council Research Study.
Proudly Supported by our Family of Companies:
We’re Ready to Create Connections
Even with the convenience of virtual substitutes, in-person events are still the preferred way to meet for an optimal, engaging experience. They deliver top line growth, bottom line results and, most of all, human connections. We learn, change and innovate when we are together — and that value is something that cannot be replicated.
We’re Ready to Ignite The Economy
Meetings and events are a global economic powerhouse. In a study commissioned by the Events Industry Council, findings showed that the business events sector directly generated more output than many large global sectors – including consumer electronics and computers and office equipment.
As the world prepares to return to business as usual, our industry prepares to restore its place as a critical business driver to a healthy and thriving global economy.
We’re Ready to Get Communities Back to Work
Day after day, it’s the people that keep meetings and events running. The people that make up our cities, our communities and our neighborhoods.
From direct impact employees such as banquet, staging, and other hotel and venue staff to the behind-the-scenes team members like accounting, food supply, and technology support, meetings and events are responsible for supporting more than 26 million jobs.
We’re Ready to Drive Business Recovery
Our industry is at the helm of driving business around the world. From local mom-and-pop shops to global economic staples, we work with businesses of all sizes to successfully execute events and advance booming economies.
We’re Ready To Start Working
Meetings and events put people to work. The income earned for these hardworking individuals allows them to provide for their families, send kids to college and save for retirement.
When events happen, everybody goes back to work — putting money back into our economy.
When the World’s ready to Meet
We’re Ready
The meeting and events industry is facing an unprecedented situation. Despite the current environment, our industry shows resilience. We align our purpose to show that we are stronger together.
PSAV and our family of companies, along with MMB, EIC, MPI, and PCMA have launched an advocacy campaign for our industry.
Help spread the word with #MeetingsWork on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter!
Because when the world’s ready to meet, we’re ready to create impactful experiences with you.
To read more about the full, global impact meetings and events have on the economy, click here to access the Events Industry Council Research Study.
Proudly Supported by our Family of Companies:
We’re Ready to Create Connections
Even with the convenience of virtual substitutes, in-person events are still the preferred way to meet for an optimal, engaging experience. They deliver top line growth, bottom line results and, most of all, human connections. We learn, change and innovate when we are together — and that value is something that cannot be replicated.
We’re Ready to Ignite the Economy
Meetings and events are a global economic powerhouse. In a study commissioned by the Events Industry Council, findings showed that the business events sector directly generated more output than many large global sectors – including consumer electronics and computers and office equipment.
As the world prepares to return to business as usual, our industry prepares to restore its place as a critical business driver to a healthy and thriving global economy.
We’re Ready to Get Communities Back to Work
Day after day, it’s the people that keep meetings and events running. The people that make up our cities, our communities and our neighborhoods.
From direct impact employees such as banquet, staging, and other hotel and venue staff to the behind-the-scenes team members like accounting, food supply, and technology support, meetings and events are responsible for supporting more than 26 million jobs.
We’re Ready to Drive Business Recovery
Our industry is at the helm of driving business around the world. From local mom-and-pop shops to global economic staples, we work with businesses of all sizes to successfully execute events and advance booming economies.
We’re Ready to Start Working
Meetings and events put people to work. The income earned for these hardworking individuals allows them to provide for their families, send kids to college and save for retirement.
When events happen, everybody goes back to work – putting money back into our economy.
MeetSAFE™
Meetings and events support more than ten million jobs worldwide. To help get the live event industry, event planners, and our teams back to work and begin the road to recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic, meeting safely will undoubtedly be a priority.
Encore and our family of companies will be at the forefront in safe meeting practices related to the services provided by our industry leading brands.
As shelter-in-place restrictions ease, physical distancing and enhanced cleaning procedures will remain an essential part of making people comfortable with meeting.
Risk and health are two key considerations for businesses and associations. An anticipated phase one recovery for our industry likely represents smaller meeting sizes following evolving government guidelines.
With fewer people meeting and a cleaning routine in place, the risk to attendees will be reduced.
How will meeting safely in the early stages of recovery look?
Working alongside venue partners, Encore is designing a series of meeting formats, equipment packages, and recommendations that address how to reduce risk, increase confidence, and promote health within the meeting space.
Meeting design, room layout, technology considerations and enhanced cleaning procedures are at the heart of this offering with the goal to make the meetings and events industry strong, and healthier than ever.
Meeting Design Options: Local to Global Solutions
As people return to in person meetings, smaller groups could potentially fall into three meeting designs:
Hybrid Boardroom Meetings
One
Room
Hybrid Small Meetings
Multi-room,
Broadcast Communication
Hybrid Mid-Size Meetings
Multi-room/Multi-venue,
Networked Communication
*Hybrid: All three meeting designs can incorporate a virtual stream for attendees and presenters that are not able to make the in-person meeting.
Room Layout
With the meeting design in mind, room layouts may look different. Incorporating physical distancing and traffic flow will reduce risk and promote health within the meeting environment.
Tables and chairs may be spaced to meet best practices and floor decals, and other forms of signage may inform attendees on the best way to move through the space to limit contact.
Technology equipment will be sized according to the new space with the addition of virtual components as necessary.
Technology Considerations
This illustration highlights technologies that can help support these meeting designs.
Beyond traditional items like projectors and screens, items to support sound reinforcement, recording, web-conferencing and digital tools for polling and Q&A should be considered.
Cleaning Guidelines
As the event space changes, it will be more important than ever to create a space that continues to promote collaboration and engagement and while focusing heavily on hygiene.
Encore is educating our team members on enhanced cleaning procedures. We are doing this to help stop the spread of germs as we strive to build upon our commitment to safety.
Tent cards will indicate when equipment has been cleaned, with particular attention to high-touch items such as microphones, keyboards, wireless presenters and markers.
For the best user experience, please use Google Chrome.
This post is the first in a series on event internet from Matt Harvey, VP of Internet Services at PSAV
Internet is cited as one of the most challenging items in event planning and often leads to apprehension over using Wi-Fi dependent tech like polling, streaming, and audience engagement tools. Without the confidence that these tools will work, it’s hard to invest in their use and, in turn, this limits the meeting experience.
Connecting people is quite literally in PSAV’s purpose statement, so in this series, I’ll lift the lid on meeting Wi-Fi – focusing on how to buy with confidence and successfully connect and inspire your audience. For this post, the often-misunderstood concept of bandwidth is the focus.
Bandwidth is something we all know something about since we buy it for our homes. It makes sense to us that more bandwidth means we can do more “stuff” at once with the internet. But in an event setting, getting the balance right between too little (resulting in a poor experience) and too much (resulting in overpayment) bandwidth can be tough. In other words, how much is just enough?
Shared vs. Dedicated
The first thing to know is the difference between shared and dedicated bandwidth. You can watch our explainer video on that here. It’s only two minutes long, and we’ll be right here when you’re done.
Now that you know the difference, it’s important to note that the home internet is an example of shared bandwidth. In an effort to make us upgrade, the cable operators tell us that we need faster services for all our devices. “Ultimate Internet (up to) 300 Mbps suitable for 10 devices!” they say.
This type of marketing leads to confusion. If 300Mbps is good for 10 devices, then each device needs 30Mbps, right? Not so fast. Dedicated bandwidth is different. For large groups, we actually need less bandwidth than we otherwise might think, and in the dedicated bandwidth world of events, it’s easy to assume that the numbers are the same as the cable company marketing which leads to an overestimation of bandwidth needs.
Calculate It
Next time someone tells you they need 30Mbps each because that’s what they get at home, take a breath and remember there’s a calculator for that. This tool will give you a good starting point for attendee bandwidth needs.
What if a presenter requests a lot of bandwidth as part of their requirements? Chances are, the presenter is also thinking about shared bandwidth in-home internet terms. Have a conversation about the presenter’s intended use of the internet and include your trusted techie. Most everything a presenter will need to do from a presentation laptop can be done in less than 5Mbps.
Remember:
- Use the bandwidth calculator to estimate your needs.
- Make sure your venues are providing bandwidth usage reports, showing your total bandwidth consumption over time. These will help you dial in on exactly what your needs truly are.
- If you are concerned about running out of bandwidth, consider pre-negotiating an optional on-site upgrade with the venue. If you need to use it, pull the trigger with the confidence that the additional cost is already understood.
- You can always email us at Internet@psav.com. We’ll answer all of your internet-related questions, regardless of venue.